1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital image conversion apparatus, and more specifically to a programmable digital image conversion apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Due to digital image systems such as digital still cameras (DSC) or digital video cameras having light volume and being capable for use in a computer system or on the internet directly, digital image systems have become the main stream products of the image system market.
In general, a digital image system has a monitor to display digital signals recorded by the digital image system. Users may use the monitor as a viewfinder to help determine a proper position to take pictures, or review the pictures taken so as to edit or delete unsatisfactory pictures.
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a prior art digital image system 100. The digital image system 100 comprises a digital image forming apparatus 120 for generating a screen signal 140. The screen signal 140 will be converted by an image conversion apparatus 160 and then a converted screen signal will be displayed on a monitor 180. The digital image forming apparatus 120 always uses a charge-coupled device (CCD) as an image sensor. The monitor 180 always uses a liquid crystal display (LCD) as a display. However, data formats of the screen signal 140 generated by the digital image forming apparatus 120 are usually in a data format that is incompatible with the monitor 180. At present, there is not any standard specification of the monitor 180. Due to the lack of a standard, the digital image system 100 needs the installation of the image conversion apparatus 160 between the digital image forming apparatus 120 and the monitor 180 as a data format conversion interface. In this way, the monitor 180 is capable of properly displaying the digital signals recorded by the digital image forming apparatus 120.
The prior art image conversion apparatus 160 is a circuit that is designed for handling the screen signal 140, and generates data formats that the particular monitor 180 can accept. Therefore, the image conversion apparatus 160 can be only used for the particular monitor 180. If a manufacturer of the digital image system 100 wishes to use other types of monitors 180, the manufacturer of the digital image system 100 must implement a new circuit in the image conversion apparatus 160 so the image conversion apparatus 160 can provide appropriate data formats to the new monitor 180. For the manufacturer of the digital image system 100, it is inconvenient to design different circuits in the image conversion apparatus 160 to match the different monitors. This is a drawback of the prior art image conversion apparatus 160.
It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide a programmable digital image conversion apparatus for overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art digital image conversion apparatus.
The claimed invention, briefly summarized, discloses a digital image conversion apparatus. The digital image conversion apparatus is provided for converting a screen signal to display a converted screen signal on a monitor. The screen signal comprises a plurality of first image signals. The image conversion apparatus comprises a format memory, a conversion matrix, a latch circuit, and a control circuit. There is at least one data group stored in the format memory. The conversion matrix is used to convert the first image signals to a plurality of corresponding second image signals. The latch circuit is electrically connected to the conversion matrix for latching the second image signals transmitted from the conversion matrix. The control circuit is electrically connected to the format memory and the latch circuit for controlling the latch circuit, so that the latch circuit latches chosen second image signals according to a lock signal in the data group transferred from the format memory.
It is an advantage of the claimed invention that the image conversion apparatus of the digital image system employs the stored data of the data group in the format memory to control image conversion. For different monitors, a manufacturer needs only to change data within storage checks of the data group so as to be capable of performing image conversion.
These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.